FY27 BUDGET SEASON: BPI liveblogs Council's 5th Budget Working Session
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FY27 BUDGET SEASON: BPI liveblogs Council's 5th Budget Working Session2nd to last budget working session before June 3 budget vote; Today's meeting was moved to 3 PM due to the funeral for fallen Boston firefighter Bobby Kilduff
Today at 3 PM is the Council’s 5th budget working session - read the public notice.
There is one more budget working session tomorrow at 10 AM - read the public notice - and then the Council is expected to vote on the FY27 budget at the Council’s regular meeting on Wednesday, June 3rd. Today’s working session is the the 3rd in a row where BPI expects a detailed discussion of Councilors’ proposed amendments. That discussion didn’t happen last at last week’s working sessions on Thursday or Friday because Ways & Means Chair Ben Weber failed to provide his colleague the list of budget amendments proposed by City Councilors. Weber has made clear for weeks that he did not want to use a complete list of proposed budget amendments as the basis for the budget working sessions. At Friday’s extraordinary short budget working session - it lasted 14 minutes, from 11:24 AM to 11:38 AM - Weber unveiled and briefly described his preferred alternative to that wider ranging debate: his own amendment package.  This is Weber's amendment package, worth $14.5M or 0.3% of the FY27 budget. Weber created this amendment package in the face of vocal opposition from many of his colleagues - including other Councilors who support Liz Breadon for Council President like Ruthzee Louijeune - who wanted to see an accounting all Councilors proposed amendments. Rather than follow Louijeune’s advice, Weber appears intent on limiting debate about changes to the budget to just what is in his proposed amendment packet, writing in his latest newsletter:
Whether or not Weber is able to limit debate just to his amendment package seems to depend on how many of his colleagues’ budget amendments were included in it. While Weber didn’t provide any detail on how much of his amendment package was drawn from his colleagues budget amendments, you can do your own comparison: BPI obtained what appears to be a complete amendment list. At today’s meeting look for Councilors whose proposed spending changes and/or their preferred cuts were left out of Weber’s amendment package to speak up. For more on the first 4 working sessions, check out BPI’s past live-blogs:
BPI will have provide live updates on today’s working session below. The comments are still open: let us know what you are watching for at today’s working session. The hearing was scheduled to start at 10 AM on Monday, June 1. The start time was pushed back to 3 PM due to the funeral of Boston firefighter Bobby Kilduff, and is now scheduled to start at 3 PM. Thanks for reading Boston Policy Institute, Inc on Substack! Subscribe for the latest on Boston’s FY27 budget & other important issues! Boston Policy Institute, Inc is working to improve the public conversation - help us by following BPI on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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